Page 14 - Black Velvet Magazine Issue 105

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when they inherit it, they have to give part of it came to me. Actually, I wasn't even thinking ith no wish to wrap things up on any-
away, that is such bollocks! It is absolute bol- about this song at the time. I was just getting a Wthing resembling a negative note, we
locks. I mean why? They spend their entire life bit upset and a bit pissed off about the fact that turn our attention to what is perhaps one of the
working, pay their dues. I just think it is ab- Mum had got the news that it was terminal and more underrated cuts on 'Venous', 'I Didn't
solute bullshit." I was like ‘Fucking hell, there are so many peo- Know'. We ask Steve what lessons the EPs
ple in the world getting news like that and when have taught him and if there is anything he did-
aving touched upon it briefly already, are they ever going to find a cure for this shit n't know prior to their creation which he does
Hthere was no chance we could let our thing that is striking people down?’ There are know now.
time with Steve pass without discussing the so many people suffering from it and that The question is met with a welcome burst
song 'The Cure', a dedication to his and Neal’s evolved into this idea and I just started writing of laughter before he tells Black Velvet, "I didn't
mum, who sadly passed away from cancer last down some words, like ‘The Cure’, and ‘struck know anything about the chart process before
October; a song of which the younger of the down in their prime’ and a couple of other little we wrote these because we have literally done
siblings has publicly said, ‘We, like many, suf- sentences and that was the basis of the idea. all of this ourselves and we have learnt loads
fered at the hands of this terrible illness, but we "And after that initial thought about it, I kind and it was really fun and it has really opened
found solace in knowing we are not on our of, again, in typical Steve Hill fashion, I didn't our eyes to what goes into it.
own. With millions of people across the globe want it to be a sad song about my poor mum, "We took a hit when we decided we were
going through a similar tough time, we wanted I wanted it to be a kick-ass rock song with a going to go for a chart company because to do
to write a song of hope and sympathy for any- nice, strong message to it and once I got to that so you have to have a proper distributor. You
one affected by cancer.’ stage it became more of a joy because I need a proper, licensed chart distributor to post
We ask Steve how tough it was to bring started putting more of a positive tweak onto it your stuff out, otherwise it doesn't count. So we
this song to life. "It was a weird thing to think about what would happen if we did find a cure weren't able to send the records out ourselves
about,” he answers. “It wasn't hard at the time and what we would do with it and what it would like we have in the past because they don't
because, and I know this will sound a bit mean. So, at the start it was born out of sad- trust you to do that and be honest about how
gloomy, but it did just seem the most natural ness, but it became more hopeful and some- many you've sent, so you need a licensed
thing to do for me." thing I really wanted to do and I hope that company and they, of course, take a percent-
His voice at this point starts to crack at the anyone who was, or is, going through what we age and all that kind of business, but we just
end of the phone. "I'd written this song and I'd were going through, they would stick it on and thought for this one, ‘Fuck it, let's go for it.’ So,
told Neal right early on that I was going to write it might lift their spirits a little bit." setting all that up, you have to send the product
a song about Mum and he was like "Yeah, do to the chart and they have to authorise it and
it". And I just sat down one night and this idea there are loads of rules. They actually send you

SKAM